On the Resurrection of the Dead: A New Metaphysics of Afterlife for Christian Thought

256 Pages·2019·1.268 MB·English

by  James T. Turner

On the Resurrection of the Dead
“James T. Turner’s On the Resurrection of the Dead is an important contribution to the literature
on analytic theology, which helpfully integrates philosophy of religion, biblical studies, and
systematic theology. Provocatively, Turner critically objects to a traditional view of Christian
anthropology and develops a fascinating case for the immediate resurrection view of the afterlife.”
—Joshua R. Farris, Houston Baptist University and
Heythrop College, University of London
“Turner makes an original and significant theological contribution to the resurgent debate
about substance dualism as he explores the question of afterlife in Christian theology.
Notably, Turner rejects substance dualism not because it lacks philosophical coherence but
because he finds it inconsistent with his view of the overriding theological importance of
embodiment in afterlife. The work moves deftly across the philosophical and theological
landscape to challenge the consistency of a disembodied intermediate state, advocating
instead an immediate resurrection underpinned by a novel combination of hylemorphism
and Eschatological Presentism. The book gives substance dualists reason to check their
theological foundations and is an excellent example of contemporary analytic theology.”
—Jonathan J. Loose, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Psychology,
Heythrop College, University of London
Christian tradition has largely held three theological affirmations about the afterlife of human
beings. Firstly, that bodily resurrection is not a superfluous hope of afterlife. Secondly, there
is immediate post-mortem existence in Paradise. Finally, there is numerical identity between
pre-mortem and post-resurrection human beings. The same tradition also largely adheres to
a robust doctrine of The Intermediate State, a paradisiacal disembodied state of existence
following the biological death of a human being. This book argues that these positions are
in fact internally inconsistent, and so a new theological model for life after death is required.
The opening arguments of the book aim to show that The Intermediate State actually
undermines the necessity of bodily resurrection. Additionally, substance dualism, a principle
The Intermediate State requires, is shown to be equally untenable in this context. In response
to this, the metaphysics of the afterlife in Christian theology is re-evaluated, and after
investigating physicalist and constitutionist replacements for substance dualist metaphysics,
a new theory called “Eschatological Presentism” is put forward. This model combines a
broadly Thomistic hylemorphic metaphysics with a novel theory of Time.
This is an innovative examination of the doctrine of life after death. It will, therefore,
be of great interest to scholars of analytic theology and philosophy of religion.
James T. Turner, Jr. is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Anderson University in
South Carolina, USA. From 2016 to 2018 he was Postdoctoral Research Associate on
the Analytic Theology Project at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has published various
articles in analytic theology and philosophy of religion dealing with, among other topics,
Christian conceptions of afterlife, the imago Dei, the metaphysics of human beings, and
Christology in journals such as Journal of Analytic Theology, International Journal for
Philosophy of Religion, and Journal of Reformed Theology.
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Eschatology as Imagining the End
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Edited by Sigurd Bergmann
Foucault, Art and Radical Theology
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On the Resurrection of the Dead
A New Metaphysics of Afterlife for Christian Thought
James T. Turner, Jr.
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On the Resurrection
of the Dead
A New Metaphysics of Afterlife
for Christian Thought
James T. Turner, Jr.
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 James T. Turner, Jr.
The right of James T. Turner, Jr. to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Turner, James T., Jr., author.
Title: On the resurrection of the dead : a new metaphysics of afterlife
for Christian thought / James T. Turner, Jr.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2018. | Series: Routledge new
critical thinking in religion, theology, and biblical studies | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018027274 | ISBN 9781138350625 (hardback :
alk. paper) | ISBN 9780429789007 (pdf) | ISBN 9780429788994
(epub) | ISBN 9780429788987 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Resurrection. | Future life. | Hylomorphism.
Classification: LCC BT873 .T87 2018 | DDC 236/.8—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018027274
ISBN: 978-1-138-35062-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-43577-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Bethany, a tangible presence of the New Creation

Contents
ContentsContents
Foreword x
Acknowledgments xii
Introduction 1
I Setting the scene 1
II Theological affirmations 9
TA1: That bodily resurrection is not a superfluous hope
of afterlife 9
TA2: There is immediate post-mortem existence in
Paradise 9
TA3: There is numerical identity between pre-mortem
and post-resurrection human beings 9
TAs 1–3: taken together 10
III Chapter breakdown 16
1 On the horns of a dilemma 20
A theological problem 20
I How did we get here? 27
I.1 Jewish eschatology: continued 31
I.2 Apostolic fathers, Papias, and early church fathers: a
quick historical progression 34
I.3 Paradise and church teaching 38
II If substance dualism is true, then Paul’s argument is
unsound 42
III Some objections and some rejoinders 60
IV If Paul’s argument is sound, then substance dualism is
false 65
V Substance dualism and the intermediate state: a post-
mortem and a way ahead 70
viii Contents
2 Physicalism and resurrection hope 74
Introduction 74
A very brief excursus on Locke’s Axiom (LA) 78
I The Simulacrum Thesis 79
II The Falling Elevator Model 85
III Anti-criterialism 97
IV Wrapping up 105
3 Lynne Baker’s constitution metaphysics 107
Introduction 107
I Primary kinds and constitution 110
II Numerical identity and a false analogy 117
III No working definition (CP1) 122
IV Too many persons or no human persons at all
(CP2) 127
V There are no essential differences between divine and
human persons (CP3) 132
VI Baker and resurrection 135
Conclusion 137
4 Hylemorphism and disembodied souls 139
Introduction 139
I Hylemorphism 143
II A word about the human soul as form 158
III Material substantial forms and immaterial substantial
forms 162
IV Addressing the trilemma: horns (a), (b), and (c) 166
IV.1 Horn (c): human souls are not “metaphysical
amphibians” 166
IV.2 Horns (a) and (b) 177
V Concluding thoughts 180
5 Eschatological Presentism: A model of immediate
eschatological resurrection 183
Introduction 183
I A quick summary: theories of time 187
II Theology and temporal topology: a new theory 195
II.1 Why not four-dimensionalism or presentism? 195
II.2 Compound presentism 199
Contents ix
II.3 Eschatological Presentism (EP) 204
II.4 A theological problem? 212
III Summary 216
6 H ylemorphism and Eschatological Presentism: on the
resurrection of the dead 217
Introduction 217
I Body Identity Physicalism (BIP) and Eschatological
Presentism 218
II Hylemorphism and Eschatological Presentism 222
III Conclusion 224
Bibliography 228
Index 241